Sitting Is the New Smoking: The Year in Health

Sitting is the new smoking.

The chair became public health enemy number one this year, thanks to the culmination of multiple studies and growing evidence that a sedentary life may be as harmful as smoking. A lack of physical activity has been linked to a 147 percent rise in heart disease and life spans shortened by 22 minutes for every seated hour. "Our bodies are meant to move," says Dr. Alpa Patel, of the American Cancer Society. "As we become more sedentary, we put ourselves at greater risk for a lot of diseases."